Honda Valkyrie

Some of the promotion has been as entertaining as the bike itself. The fat lady has sung, eh? Honda's ad headline for its new Valkyrie certainly got more than its fair share of attention, though there's no prizes for guessing what the punters are now calling the bike. Yep, the Fat Lady. While the corporate folk might be wincing at the idea, things could be worse. Harley-Davidson got away with calling a bike the Fat Boy, though I shudder to think what the progeny of the two models would be...

Valkyrie, by the way, is a figure of Norse mythology - apparently it's a term for Odin's handmaidens, who escorted the souls of slain heroes to Valhalla. Anyone who's a fan of the film Apocalypse Now will be familiar with the orchestral piece entitled Ride of the Valkyries, which plays during the attack of the airborne cavalry.

Right, now we've got all the trivia out of the way, let's have a look at the bike.

F who?

Also known as the F6 in some markets (gee, that'll catch on), the Valkyrie is as American as they come. Something which is emphasised by the "Made in the USA" sticker on the rear fender.

Essentially it's a sporting version of the GoldWing luxo tourer and, if that chap up the back can control his mirth for the moment, I'll qualify the "sporting" allegation. It's true that anyone who seriously calls a 309 kilo motorcycle with six-pot 1520cc powerplant a sports bike has been a little too free with the hallucinogens. But a Wing that's stripped of around 60 kilos of bodywork, gets a hot-up for the motor and some handling tweaks, is certainly heading down the performance road.

So what's been done? The powerplant has been fitted with lumpier cams, six 28mm carbs, screw and locknut tappets, and is allowed to spin 1000rpm higher (to 6500) than the touring version. Power is a claimed 100ps at 6000, while torque a healthy - but not earth-shattering for a donk this size - 130Nm at 5000. Regardless of the claims, the rate at which this thing can swallow bitumen borders on the obscene.

Fortunately the performance upgrade has been matched with some chassis improvements. Braking is handled by a reasonable set of two-piston callipers working twin discs up front and one on the rear. Front suspension is compliments of an awe-inspiring set of 45 mil upside-down forks. Yep, you read that right - real forks on a cruiser! They're backed up with a conventional set of dual shocks on the back, with five-way preload adjustment.

We also have plenty of grip thanks to wide 150/80-17 rubber on the snout and 180/70-16 out back. That rear tyre is not an overly common size, so it would pay to warn your local tyre shop when you're coming up for replacement.

The monster wheelbase, over 32 degrees of rake (two degrees up on the Wing) and 152mm trail add up to 'deliberate' handling. The frame, by the way, is new and has the motor solid-mounted.

A potentially useful carry-over from the Wing is the monster 470 Watt alternator, powerful enough to light a small town. Honda has thought to provide an accessory jack under one of the sidecovers.

Full circle
In a way you could describe the Valkyrie as a 20-year-old model. When Honda was plotting for the launch of the original GoldWing four in 1975, it had played with some interesting alternative configurations. One of them happened to be a naked boxer six, which actually reached prototype stage, that bore more than a passing resemblance to today's bike.

However the Valkyrie is of much greater significance to Honda USA than just being an interesting retro. It fills out the company's all-important cruiser range in that market, joining bikes such as the Ace in the battle against Harley for the hearts and wallets of American riders.

The local Honda folk seem fairly keen to have the bike seen as being in a class of its own, and I can see their point. When you look at specs and performance, it probably falls somewhere in between Yamaha's Royal Star cruiser and V-Max hotrod.

Play time
One thing the Valkyrie has by the bucket-load is presence, not unlike that of a certain Milwaukee brand. Sheer size has a lot to do with it - you could land a Cessna on the fuel tank - as does the fact it's literally dripping in chrome. The combination of the shiny bits, and a paint scheme that's as subtle as a smack in the head with a dead mullet, means you'll never have trouble finding your bike in the car park.

Which causes me to wonder if this bike will ever be involved in one of those "Sorry mate, I didn't see you" traffic incidents. If it does happen, you should have no trouble having the driver declared legally blind.

Speaking of visuals, I have to say the big Honda is a much better looking thing in the flesh than pics. The styling is pretty integrated, though the pipes appear to be suffering from a bad case of the Buck Rogers. This is getting into the realms of personal taste, and there's bound to be an owner out there that reckons the zorsts are his favourite bit.

Honda has fallen victim to the international game of hide the cruiser ignition switch, though it is by no means the worst offender. You're given a fighting chance as it's reasonably prominent under the right side of the fuel tank.

There's ample room in the saddle, while you're confronted with a wide set of bars that seems to suit just about anyone who rides it. Switches and controls have a suitably chunky look, and work as you'd expect them too. The only reservation here was the indicator switch on the test bike needed an unusually solid prod to cancel.

Cruiser or not, the footboards have been left off the standard spec. No doubt someone will offer an aftermarket set, though the extra ground clearance offered by the stock footpegs is both welcome and necessary.

The instruments are simple white-faced items, and a number of the warning lights are embedded in the headlight.

Moving on
There's a unique and very pleasant note that comes from the pipes when you fire the bike up, even though the Taste Police prevent us from hearing it at full volume.

Bottom end urge is substantial, meaning that if you're fairly lazy you can plonk the thing in top and it will never see the high side of 2000rpm around town. To give you an idea of gearing, 100kmh sees just 2500rpm on the tacho.

Midrange urge is certainly adequate, though nothing to write home about. A side by side top gear run with a Royal Star saw the Yamaha have the Honda for lunch at normal highway speeds. Let the Valkyrie grab a few revs, however, and the Yamaha wouldn't see which way it went.

If you like a bit of performance with your cruiser, this bike is definitely the go. The kick in urge at around 4500rpm is staggering, giving the bike a quite unexpected top-end performance. Yep, it's the old schizo trick - mild-mannered cruiser one moment, rubber-burning crotch rocket the next.

The hydraulic clutch allows plenty of feel for delicate manoeuvring, while the five-speed box goes about its work without fuss.

All this progress is halted effectively by the brakes, which are among the best in their class. We're not talking single-digit stoppies (perish the thought), but something that's up to the task.

Bend swinging
There's no escaping the fact this is a big lump of metal to stuff into a corner. The Valkyrie worked better in this area than I expected, providing no nasty surprises so long as you showed some respect.

Yes you can grind the pegs without too much trouble, but the overall chassis package is sound. The front end is easily the pick of the cruiser crop, allowing you to arrive at corners at a fair clip, confident the bike will go more or less where you point it. If anything, there's a tendency to understeer. No doubt the leverage offered by the wide bars helps overcome this.

Rear suspension is a little on the stiff side, and big mid-corner bumps will result in a solid whack from the saddle. To its credit there's no suggestion of wallowing or frame flex.

In all, the bike feels as though you would always try to find the backroad to where-ever you're going. It's no sports machine, but it's fun.

Interestingly the Honda is pretty friendly in low-speed manoeuvres, such as U-turns. There's plenty of steering lock, and the low-slung powerplant helps to disguise much of the weight. Parking is a slightly different matter: you feel every kilo when you back it out of the garage in the morning.

Living with it
I've been bleating loud and long to anyone who will listen (usually the dog, and sometimes my wife) about how most bikes are built too small to take a large human. No problems in the case of the Valkyrie, prompting Wootton to comment at one stage, "It suits you." Them's fightin' words where I come from, but he had a point.

Rider size seemed to make little difference - short or tall, everyone seemed happy with the ride position and general comfort.

Like any naked bike, there's a limit to how quickly you can cruise. Wind drag will get the better of you at anything over 130 or so, and there's bound to be a market for the accessory screen that Honda plans to make available in the near future.

Speaking of accessories, the range is being finalised at the moment, but you can expect to see the usual things such as saddle bags being offered. I'm also informed that assorted aftermarket suppliers in the USA will ensure there's a myriad of trinkets for the dedicated to adorn their toy with.

The 20 litre fuel tank gives a reasonable range, depending on how heavy-handed you are on the throttle. Consumption can drop to 10km/lt, though 15 is quite achievable on a tight motor.

There's plenty of service knowledge out there when it comes to Wings, so the Valkyrie should pose no problems. The owners manual suggests pulling out the rear wheel is a bit of trial (requires the removal of footpegs, pipes and part of the rear guard) but everything else seems straight forward.

And...

I'm more of a sports or sports-tourer fan - cruisers are fun but haven't quite got under my skin yet. But I could happily live with the Valkyrie.

There is enough performance to make life interesting, while it feels as though it will last a million years. Its considerable road presence is a bonus and, looking at what you get, the $19,900 ask seems fair in the current market.

Story: Guy Allen